Love, Lies, and the Pursuit of Happiness
by Raxacoricofallapatorious
Summary: my first ever fanfic! Brennan gets a phone call from someone she pushed out of her life 5 years ago...now what? PG right now but will get to fluffy BB later so T for then ;D read and enjoy! updated as often as possible. CHAPTER 3 UP NOW!
1. Chapter 1

**_Love, Lies, and the Pursuit of Happiness by BrennanBooth903_**

**hi everybody!!! this is my first ever fanfiction, so i'm a little nervous about you all reading it =p Bones is my favoritest show everrrr and from the first epi i saw I knew Brennan and Booth had to be together. so i promise-- eventual BB!! I have tried to keep everyone in character but no one is perfect so they might go OOC on ya a bit..sorry! Also i dont catch all my spelling/grammar mistakes so please dont sue me for using a word wrong!! *puppydog eyes smiling at you* This chapter is really only PG but i rated the story T just in case i decide to go fluffy later on :) my friend, who is an expert on constructive (and sometimes not so constructive) criticism has already given me ideas so if you like this chappy plzzz review so i can deliver her ideas in later chappys!!! **

***DISCLAIMER* I dont own Bones...*sob sob sob* maybe if i plead enough Hart Hanson will notice and give me the bestest ever prezzie!! please please pretty please with a nice shiny cocky belt buckle right on top!!! seriously though, i dont own anything :[ (yet....MUA HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!)**

Dr. Temperance Brennan was awoken by the phone ringing. She blinked her eyes open and answered.

"Hello?" she said. The voice that replied was not at all what she expected.

"M-mom?" Brennan was immediately awake.

"Leila? Is everything ok?" thoughts raced through the forensic anthropologist's mind a mile a minute. Leila, her 14-year-old daughter, hadn't spoken to her for almost five years now, and none of Brennan's co-workers knew about her. Brennan didn't wasn't anyone- especially Ang- to know that she had a daughter with her former teacher Michael Stires.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine, it's just…my friend Melissa, she just told me today…she knows something…about…a murder. And this really creepy guy followed us when we were walking to her house after school today…I'm sorry…I hope I'm not bothering you-"

"You're not, don't worry."

"Ok, well, I had to call you because…Mel says...that Terri and Paul are…the killers." Leila whispered the last word.

Brennan was stunned. Paul Mittan, her ex-boyfriend from high school, and his wife Terri had been so kind when she had asked them to take Leila five years ago.

"Well Lei, honey, it's not safe for you to stay there!" Brennan looked at the clock. It was 5:30 in the morning.

"I'm coming to get you. Are you at home?"

"Yeah, Terri and Paul have a breakfast meeting an hour away. They just left, and- oh my God. Mom, please come…please…just hurry!" Leila franticly said and hung up. Brennan jumped up and grabbed her coat. Before she left, she wrote a note for her partner, Seeley Booth, who was supposed to pick her up at 7.

_Booth-_

_I had to go pick someone up. I will explain later. Please call the police and Michael Stires if I am not back by 8 am. Tell them to go to 1843 Queen Street in Alexandria- right across from the library. Sorry if I cause you to be late._

_-Bones_

Then she leapt into her car and sped off toward Virginia to pick up her secret daughter.

***

In about 15 minutes Brennan had arrived in Alexandria. Parking a block away, she put her cell phone on vibrate so it wouldn't alert anyone of her arrival. She walked up to the Mittan's front door. It opened before she knocked, and Leila burst out into her mother's arms.

"Leila, what happened? Why did you hang up?" Brennan stepped inside and closed and locked the door.

"A woman was just found-dead-a block away from the restaurant where Terri and Paul were going! I think Mel is right- they are the murderers" she threw herself into Brennan's arms again.

"Lei, sweetie, everything is going to be ok. You can come back and stay with me, and we can talk to the FBI. We will get protection for Melissa, and-"the door exploded off its hinges and a man dressed in black pointed a gun at Brennan and Leila. Brennan stepped in front of her daughter and, heart pounding; put her hands in the air.

"Temperance…how nice to see you…Leila actually cares enough to invite you for a visit when her parents aren't home…how sweet." He sneered at Brennan.

"You're not my dad, Paul! You're a murderer! I hate you! Im going with my _real _mom now!" Leila shouted.

Paul laughed, cold and unfriendly. Brennan glanced at the clock. It was only 7. Booth wouldn't be missing her for another hour. She should have called him…

"You aren't going with Tempie. Both of you are staying right here until Terri gets home and then we will decide what to do with you." Since he had a gun, neither of the girls felt like arguing.

***

Soon they were each tied to a chair in the basement of the Mittan's house. They sat there in silence. Brennan was trying to think of ways to escape when she heard a door open.

"Temperance Brennan came to try and break Leila out…Leila's friend Melissa knows. She saw us talking to Teddy before he killed that man. I tied them both to chairs in the basement"

"But Paul…won't that FBI friend of Tempie's come to try and rescue her?" Terri's sickly sweet voice deepened Brennan's newfound hatred of the couple.

"Terri, baby, he is just a special agent. They really only work with papers. Not a terribly demanding job and I highly doubt he is as good with a gun as you are, sugarplum." Paul's statement about Booth was only mildly reassuring, but at least they had the weakness of their assumption to deal with now.

Suddenly they heard a door open and two gunshots were fired. Terri's sickly sweet laugh sounded before another shot rang out. Brennan realized that with the two of the Mittans up there, hardly anyone stood a chance at all. The basement door opened and a huge figure began walking down the steps. Brennan concluded that she was about to die, in a cold dark basement, with her secret daughter, without ever saying goodbye to her friends and family…

"Bones!" a familiar voice rang through the basement. Brennan was weak with relief and she heard Leila begin cry quietly.

"Booth! How did you know we were in trouble? It's nowhere near 8 yet, why did you come so soon? And alone…you could have been killed!" Brennan said to her partner.

"Well your note said to call the police so I figured you were getting yourself into some kind of trouble, and I didn't bother to call the police or Stiles, I knew I could handle it, and I don't like Stiles anyway he always struck me as a goody-goody," Booth said as he pulled out a pocketknife to cut the ropes off of their wrists. Brennan had never been happier to see him, and she laughed slightly at the comment about Michael.

"It's Stires, Booth, and it was not very smart of you to assume that you could handle it. What if something had happened to you? Where would the FBI and Jeffersonian team be then? And what about Parker? He would be devastated if you were killed." Brennan chastised Booth in that tone of hers she used on him far too much, in his opinion. Booth laughed and brushed Brennan's auburn hair out of her eyes. She was immediately silent and he wondered if he had gone too far. He walked over to Leila and helped her up. He brushed away her tears and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"It's ok, you're safe now." Brennan found herself smiling at just how easygoing Booth was around children. "Who are you anyway?" Leila paused.

"I'm…ummmm….I'm…..uhhhh…..-"

Brennan interrupted Leila's suspicious babble.

"She's my daughter," she said heavily. Booth felt himself tense and it was all he could do to keep from falling. The basement rang with silence.

"You're…daughter?!" he was unable to keep the shock out of his voice.

"Yes. I never told you before because I knew you wouldn't take it well." Brennan sighed.

"Brennan, you should have trusted me…and I'm taking it fine, thank you," Booth said.

"Obviously you're not. I expected you to be surprised but why are you angry? And you've never called me Brennan before…" her voice trailed away. She realized that even though she was always telling him not to call her Bones, now she noticed that she sort of enjoyed him having a nickname for her.

"Well...i am surprised. I'm in shock. Sorry. You know, this almost falls into the category of life called 'death by shock,'" Booth told her. "Now let's get moving. There'll be Hell if someone finds us down here with two DB's upstairs. He strode away. Brennan felt horrible about deceiving him, even though it had been necessary.

"I don't know what categories of life you are talking about, but I don't think 'death by shock' is part of any of them," she called after him.

Leila's eyes followed Booth hungrily. "Mom is that your boyfriend? He is _hot_…is he a cop?" Brennan smiled weakly.

"No, he is only my work partner. And actually he is an FBI Special Agent, but he used to be a sniper." Brennan followed Booth out of the basement.

"Wow! That _is_ hot!" Leila chirped and trotted up the stairs. Brennan rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep from laughing.

***

Leila and her friend Melissa Greene were sitting on Paul and Terri's couch. A woman with blonde hair and a navy blue and yellow FBI jacket was questioning them. She wrote down everything they said in her little black notebook. Other agents were searching the house, and two coroners were stuffing the Mittans into body bags. Brennan was sitting on the other couch watching the scene. It was the first crime scene she was a witness at and not the investigator. Booth was talking to an agent too, about him shooting the Mittans, and from what Brennan was hearing he was ok, since they both had guns out when he shot them. She was sitting there quietly when Booth sat down next to her.

"So is Stiles the father?" Brennan didn't bother to correct the name; she just nodded her head without looking at Booth. "If you can't have her stay in your apartment she is welcome to come to my house. Parker is coming tomorrow and she could help watch him and she would be safe. You know, you could even stay with her if you wanted to…"he looked away, realizing he probably shouldn't have said that last bit.

"Thank you, Booth. I'm sure she will be a lot of help with Parker…but I can't take up your offer for myself. I have to get into the lab today and finish documenting the vertebrae from the Tyler Kingston case. Maybe we could all go out for dinner, though." She stood up and walked over to the Special Agent in Charge, Sam Wallace.

"Agent Wallace may Leila and I leave now? I have some work I need to do, and Agent Booth has been kind enough to offer to let Leila stay with him today so I believe everything is worked out."

"I don't see why not. You are capable of getting her back to Booth's home safely, and she is finished with questioning," Wallace said. "Go ahead, you can leave." Brennan and Leila got in Brennan's car and followed Booth's SUV to his place. The three were silent in the elevator, and when they got there Brennan was the first to speak.

"Leila, Booth's son Parker is coming in a little while and I want you to please help take care of him, ok?" Leila nodded and went into Booth's apartment.

"Thank you again, Booth…I will be done around 5 so you can bring Parker and Leila to the lab around four thirty…I want to introduce her to the rest of the staff. Then we can go up to Royal for dinner." Brennan told Booth.

"Ok, then I will see you around 4:30. Good luck breaking the news to the squint squad." Booth smiled his little half smile and waved goodbye to Brennan as she walked back to the elevator.

***

Brennan sighed as she thought about what to say to the staff. She could already hear their reactions. Her best friend, Angela Montenegro, who was their 'artist' of the lab, would say, "You have a _daughter_?! With Major Hottie Michael _Stires_?! Your ex- teacher-ex-boyfriend-ex-court enemy?! Honey, why did you wait so long to tell us? We could have helped you get child support checks from him, and she could be, like, an intern already…sweetie, you are so depriving her of a wonderful life." Then she would gasp with a sudden realization. "Once she meets Parker and they become so close they are like siblings then you and Booth will have no choice but to profess your love for each other and get married!" Ang was always saying crazy things about Brennan and Booth getting together.

Coroner Cam Saroyan would get that funny wide-eyed smile and say, "does Booth know its Stires'?" or "is Booth jealous?" Or worse, "does Stires know?" Then Cam would agree with Angela about Brennan and Booth. Brennan started to laugh just thinking about it. As she got in her car she thought about who would talk next.

It would be entomologist Jack Hodgins and assistant Zach Addy- the 'Kings of the Lab' as they called themselves. The two best friends would look at each other, then Hodgins would say, "So I bet now Booth wants to beat up on Stires," and Zach would add, "yeah, he will probably leave Leila to babysit Parker and go track him down," they would both laugh and Cam would look at Zach sternly and Ang would hit Hodgins. Then they would talk about how hot they think Leila is, thinking they are quiet but really everyone is able to hear them.

Next, and last, would be the psychologist Dr. Lance Sweets. He would start by analyzing Zach and Hodgins. "Zach, Hodgins, I think that you two are conforming to be the (air quotes) 'perfect male' (to which Hodgins would interject, "and I can tell you're not") by talking about the (air quotes again) 'hotness' of Dr. Brennan's daughter. Really, you should be more concerned about your first point. If Agent Booth is angry at Dr. Stires, he will be a very dangerous man and we will want to keep away from him. But at the same time, we will want to stop him, so-"at this point Booth would come in with Leila and Parker and say, "alright Sweets stop it with the Shrink Speak and listen to Bones. She wants to introduce Leila." And then, Brennan realized, she would be on her own.

***

Now she was pulling into the parking lot of the Jeffersonian Institution's Medico-Legal Lab. She grabbed her purse and walked through the doors without pausing. No sooner had she stepped over the threshold then a bundle of energy and black hair and beads and soft pink fabric wrapped its arms around her.

"Ang!"

"Bren honey are you ok? Booth said you left a note and he was going to help you…he was really worried about you," Angela said with a knowing smile on her face. "We all were."

"Thanks, Ang, but there's nothing going on between Booth and me. But I have to tell you all something." Brennan looked up at Zach and Hodgins. "Someone call Cam and Sweets."

***

They reacted just how she had imagined it. Angela and Cam fantasized about how this would bring her and Booth closer and closer until they finally cracked. Zach and Hodgins couldn't wait to meet Leila and they were already taking bets from anyone they saw in the lab about whether or not Booth would try to beat up Stires. And Sweets was just launching into his 'Booth Is a Very Disturbed Man Whom We Must Help' spiel when Booth showed up with Parker and Leila.

"Ok, Leila, this is Angela. She is my best friend, well besides Booth, and she is the artist of our lab. This is Cam, she is the coroner, and she is also a mother so you can talk to either one of them about anything. These two, not so much." Brennan smiled. "Leila, this is Jack. He is an entomologist and practical joker, like his friend Zach here. Zach is my assistant. Lastly, this is Dr. Sweets. You can talk to him too. Even though he is often too much like Jack and Zach, he is a psychologist so he is smart and trustworthy. And of course, you have me and Booth," Brennan told Leila with a smile. "Everyone, meet my daughter, Leila Mittan."

**Well there we go. You lucky devil you...you just finished reading the first ever chapter of my first ever fanfic! i really hope you liked it...Brennan might be a lil OOC at the end there but hey i can say she is just nervous about introducing Leila to her team. ANYWHOOO...please please please review...its past christmas but presents are always welcome! also feel free to leave any *constructive* criticism...if i dont like it i will just ignore you :) but maybe, just maybe, i will take your advice. ONE MORE THING::::if i dont get any reviews, i might not continue...sooooo if you want the next chapter i already have it done....(in a sing-song voice) I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!! and if you want to find out please review!! ok now i am rambling on and on and its getting kinda threatening...i will stop now, if you promise to reiview!! lol =] thanks again for reading! **

**lots and lots of love, BrennanBooth903 33**


	2. Chapter 2

**Love, Lies, and the Pursuit of Happiness**

**here is chapter two!! i got a bunch of alert notifications but only one review...oh well :( maybe updating again will attract me some attention! this chapter is kinda short, and i might not have gotten all the forensic-y stuff right, but you can pull this out and shove it in my face 10 years from now when i am getting my anthropology degree and i will correct it :)hey that reminds me..last night i found this awesome app for my ipod touch called bones,unfortunately its not about the tv show :( but it is like a bone quiz thing and its really fun and now i actually know what Bones was talking about when she said Booth has a perfect acromion! well anyway back to the story....hope you enjoy!**

**oops almost forgot about the disclaimer: i dont own Bones. Fox gets all the good stuff around here. but i am now the proud owner of a bone quiz ipod app :) yay for me! (it was free btw)**

Brennan, Booth, Leila, and Parker were all piled into Booth's black SUV. They drove for a little while, listening to Parker and Leila singing happily along to the radio. Leila had taken to Parker like a fish to water, and Parker adored Leila. Booth was quiet, wishing that Brennan would say something. They parked in front of the Royal Diner and Leila and Parker hurried right in. Booth started to follow but Brennan grabbed his hand. He stopped and his heart started to beat faster. He turned to face Brennan.

"Thank you Booth…Leila and I both owe you a lot right now…thank you," she said quietly. Booth could barely breathe. She was still holding his hand. She was just so…close, and she smelled so good. On an impulse, he began to lean in towards her. But she pulled away and walked into the diner. Leila was showing Parker the menu and helping him pick what he wanted. Brennan sat down and Booth took a seat next to her, a bit stunned at what had just happened-and what he had almost let happen. They ordered their food and soon fell back into a normal rhythm of conversation.

"Booth…I really am sorry I never told you about Leila. I didn't want anyone to know that I had a daughter…but was never married." Booth got a strange look on his face.

"I was never married either," he reminded Brennan. She turned red.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I forgot, and I should have trusted you. Do you forgive me?" she gave him that look. He smiled. Her eyes were impossible to resist.

"Of course I forgive you, Bones." He put an arm around her shoulders. She smiled. Leila and Parker started giggling and Booth removed his arm. Brennan still had a small smile decorating her soft pink lips as Booth began shoveling food into his mouth. The kids continued to laugh and Brennan found her smile getting larger and larger until a laugh popped from her mouth too. Booth looked at the three of them like they were crazy- just laughing and laughing over nothing! But, of course, he couldn't resist joining in and pretty soon they couldn't even remember what was so funny in the first place! Brennan leaned into Booth as they laughed and laughed. Suddenly Booth's phone rang.

"Agent Booth. Uh-huh. Ok. Yup she's here. Ok we will be there in ten minutes." Booth shut his phone. "Sorry guys we have to go…Bones, we've got bones."

***

Booth and Bones climbed out of the SUV. Leila was watching Parker back at Booth's apartment. Zach was there. He handed them each a HAZMAT suit.

"What's this for?" Booth looked at the white suit like it was a piece of rotten lettuce.

"Possible radioactive waste. Neighbors complained that they saw strange glowing lights and heard an explosion late last night, like the vic was trying to run a nuclear power plant in his basement. Kids these days." Zach rolled his eyes and sat down on the edge of the Jeffersonian van. "If you two would just bring him back up here for his detox bath that would be great. Im going to get suited up…see you in a minute." Booth and Brennan headed over toward the open set of Bilco doors. There was a pile of cloth lying in the middle of the floor. It looked slimy and decayed, and was definitely not going to be hiding anything that was alive, except for bacteria, mold, and bugs- Hodgin's area of expertise. Sticking out from under the cloth was a bleach white bone. Booth used a metal rod to pull the cloth off. Brennan frowned at the pile of bones.

"This was not a nuclear accident. The bones would be burned and it is very unlikely that there would be this much cloth left. I think this is a murder…possibly the victim that Melissa Greene said was going to be killed by the Mittans. We need to identify these bones."

They emerged from the Bilco doors carrying armfuls of bones. Zach, now in a HAZMAT as well, rolled a table over for them to put the skeleton on.

"Well I helped get the bones, I put them on the table…my work here is done. Im going to get away from the possibly radioactive skeleton now and take off these pajamas. See you all back at the lab!" Booth jogged away before anyone could stop him.

"They're not pajamas, Booth. It's a HAZMAT suit, to protect you from hazardous materials," Brennan called after him.

"Dr. Brennan… I think he was just referring to them as pajamas because it is not something he wants to be seen in, like a pair of pajamas. He didn't mean it literally," Zach told Brennan.

"Well then why did he say it? Never mind. These bones may not be radioactive, but let's just detoxify them anyway. Just in case. Here, you take these," Brennan pushed Booth's pile over to Zach, "and I'll take these." She pulled her pile to herself. They each dumped their bones into a detox tub and sealed them. Once the bones were done, Zach and Brennan tested them for radioactivity. When they were sure they were safe, they removed their HAZMAT suits and stacked the bones into their carriers. Then Brennan joined the FBI forensics team back in the basement. They were collecting evidence and marking footprints and possible blood spatters.

"Is this situation under control?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan. We will bring any relevant evidence to the lab for you," replied a young blond agent. He smiled proudly when an older agent nodded in appreciation. _Must be an intern_, Brennan thought. Then she headed back up to the van and signaled to Zach that it was time to leave.

"Oh no Zach…I'm driving." Brennan caught Zach's arm before he could get into the driver's seat.

"Dr. Brennan, I am perfectly capable of driving back to the lab. I got here ok, didn't i?"

"While that may be true, Dr. Addy, now there are bones in the van. Driving is different when you have evidence. These bones can't be compromised. This could be the missing victim that Melissa Greene reported." Brennan looked at Zach with the look only she could pull off. Rolling his eyes, Zach went around and got in the passenger seat.

"Buckle up, Bones," said a voice from the back seat.

"Booth! How did you get in there?" Brennan turned to look at him.

"Oh, you know. I opened the door, climbed in, and then i-"

"Booth, you know what I mean."

"That would have been your answer!" Booth told her with a smile. Brennan rolled her eyes and stepped on the gas.

***

Back at the lab, Zach and Brennan assembled the bones on the table.

"What _is_ this?" Zack held up a fragment of bone to the light, a clueless look on his face. Brennan took it and turned it in her fingers.

"It looks like an ulna…but it is far too small for this body…the rest of these bones belong to an African-American female, about 23 years old, with highly developed muscle. She was an avid runner, you can tell by the several stress fractures on her tibias…" Brennan pointed to the skeleton's pelvis, which was split down the middle. "And she has never broken a bone except for-"Brennan gasped. "She didn't _break _her pelvis…she was pregnant! This is an ulna, it was the child's" Zach's eyes widened.

"Is there enough bone to run a DNA test? We might be able to figure out who the father is."

"Good idea, Dr. Addy. Take it to Hodgins and see what he thinks. I will see if I can find any other fetal bones here." Zach picked the bone up and put it in a petri dish. He carried it out of the room as Angela walked in.

"Is the skull ready for me?" She asked. Brennan nodded and handed Angela the skull with its facial reconstruction pegs already in place.

"Thanks, Bren. I'll back in a few with our vic!"

"Thanks Ang…when you are sending out the picture, please include that she was pregnant in the description." Brennan said as Angela left. Angela stopped.

"She was pregnant?" there was a look of shock on her face. Brennan nodded and held up a tiny fibula that she had just found. "Oh my God, sweetie I'm sorry…this really isn't helping with the whole Leila deal is it? Well I am here for you honey, I always will be. Don't worry; I will make sure to specify that she was pregnant." Angela walked out of the room carrying the skull.

**well there ya go..chapter two! little bit of B&B in the beginning...more coming if i get reviewssss...but no pressure :) i think im going to try to update every Monday, cuz i have homework and stuff so i dont get a lot of time to write or post. so yea i hope you enjoyed this (short) chapter :)**

**lots of love, **

**BrennanBooth903**


	3. Chapter 3

**here is chapter 3...soooooo sorry about saying i would update on mondays, and then completely skipping one! we had midterms last week, so i was really super busy studying and had nooo time to upload :( but i did catch the new episode of bones =D *SPOILER* i thought it was sooo darn sweet of Bones to tell Booth its wasn't JFK even though she knew it might be...awwwww she loves him, she just doesnt know it and im starting to get frustrated...like Ang! I mean seriously, they need to get together! if it takes as long for them as it did for Grissom and Sara on CSI i might explode!!! lol well anyway i had some time to think (you know, while i was waiting for the rest of the class to finish ;)) and i realized that even though i am putting B&B's relationship current, as in season 5, but Zach is in it...so if you can ignore that little problem then the timeline is current! im working on chapter 4 now, and i might refer to 5x12 and in weeks to come 5x13,14,15, etc. get it? hahaha...i know im rambling :) oh and by the wayyy...i have bball practice every night now and of course school during the day, so i might not be able to update every week :( not to mention im out of pre-written material =p so anywayyyy here is chapter 3! its a little short, and i might not have some stuff right but please enjoy anyway :)**

**DISCLAIMER- dang it i hate to say this...but i dont own bones or anything affiliated with it...except for the episodes that i *legally* bought to watch on my itouch =D come on lucky stars...i wish for BONES!!! (well, i want Booth too, of course, and he is hotter than Bones, cuz im totallyyy straight, lol, so maybe both? or how about the wholeee cast and the set and the crimes and everything!!!)**

3

Brennan picked up the papers she had been filling out and tucked them away in a file drawer in her desk.

"Bones!" Brennan smiled and looked up at the sound of her partner's voice. "The FBI forensics team found some stuff in the basement where the bones were. I'm gonna run over and pick them up, will you tell the squints to get ready to do whatever it is they do?" Brennan nodded.

"Do you-"but Booth was already gone. She smiled again and rolled her eyes. She left her office and headed for the platform.

"Bren, I got a face." Angela's voice stopped her just before she swiped her access card. She turned and saw Angela holding her sketchpad up. There was a detailed drawing of a woman's face spread across the white page.

"Great, Ang. Oh, and Booth just went back to the crime scene to get some new evidence that the FBI forensics team found." Angela's face morphed into a look of shock.

" Bren! You're letting him go out in this?!"

"In what? Angela, what's wrong?" Brennan's forehead creased in worry.

"Brennan! It's like, a blizzard out there! The weather people are advising everyone to stay off the roads!" Angela's voice rose, tainted with worry.  
Brennan's face paled, but her rational brain stayed calm.

"The house where the bones were found isn't far, and Booth is a very careful driver. I'm sure he will be fine." Brennan headed off to find Zach; leaving Angela a bit exasperated and very worried.

"Dr. Addy, Dr. Hodgins, Booth will be back in a few minutes with a new piece of evidence. I don't know what it is, but please be ready to examine it and see if it is relevant to our case." They both exchanged looks of bewilderment, and when they turned back to comment on the weather, Brennan was gone.

Back in her office, Brennan called Booth's house to make sure Parker and Leila were ok. All of a sudden, Cam entered in a rush, looking incredibly flustered.

"Dr. Brennan, what were you thinking letting Booth go out in this weather, he could-" Brennan's phone rang, silencing Cam in the middle of her sentence. Brennan stared, wide-eyed, at her phone. Cam apprehensively leaned over her desk to see the phone. The caller ID clearly stated that the incoming call was from the hospital. Another ring made them both jump. Cam grabbed Brennan's office phone, and Brennan flipped open her cell.

"Dr. Saroyan. Oh my God, is he ok? Oh God…yes. Yes. Really? Ok…yes, I will make sure to tell her. Ok. Thank you."

"Brennan. Oh my God! Yes. Yes. Well actually that's not poss- oh, I see. Yes. Ok. Thank you."

There was a long silence after they had both hung up. Brennan spoke first.

"That was Booth's boss at the FBI. Booth was in a car accident. His car spun off the road and flipped over when it hit a ditch. They don't know how badly he is hurt." Brennan sat down heavily in her desk chair.

"That was the hospital. He's going to need a lot of stitches. But he's going to be back at work soon, on the bright side. And the doctor says he is having someone bring the evidence over." Cam sat on the couch.

Angela stepped into the doorway.

"Hey I have someone who thinks they recognize the photo…what's wrong?" Angela looked at Cam. Cam looked at Brennan. Brennan looked away. Angela watched Brennan look towards the photo on her desk of her and Booth celebrating their last case. "Oh my God its Booth isnt it….is he ok? What happened?"

"Everything's ok, Ang. He will be fine." Brennan seemed to be trying to convince herself as well as Angela that this would all work out.

"Come on you two. The hospital sent over the evidence Booth picked up. Hodgins thinks it might be relevant." Cam said, receiving a text message from Zach. The three women left Brennan's office to see what Zach and Hodgins had found.

"The evidence was this." Hodgins held up a petri dish. Brennan leaned closer. There was some gelatinous matter inside it, a sickly green color. But the strange part was that nestled inside the jelly was a single gold bullet. Angela and Cam gasped and looked at each other. Zach looked around in worried anticipation as Brennan began to speak.

"Hodgins, this is incredible. Is the bullet made of solid gold?"

Hodgins cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Well, Dr. B, I haven't actually tested it or anything yet…" Brennan looked at him. His cheeks began to flush pink.

"Dr. Hodgins, why did you put it in gelatin if you haven't run tests yet? It could compromise any fingerprints or particulates that might be on the bullet," Brennan said. _Normally Hodgins is one of the thorough ones, _she thought._ He knows better than to compromise evidence! _

"Actually, i...uh...didnt put it in the gelatin. It was found at the crime scene…just…like…this…" Hodgins finished slowly, holding up the petri dish in confusion as Brennan rushed off the platform towards the bone examination room.

Zach, Angela, Cam, and Hodgins hurried after her. They found her bending over the notes she and Zach had taken during their initial examination of the skeleton.

"Here!" she gasped pointing to a note written in her own hand. "'Striations on the left temporal bone, possibly caused by the grazing of a bullet.' And here," she pointed to one of Zach's notes. "'a chip on the right third rib, possibly caused by a bullet.' Hodgins I want you to please take the bullet out of the gelatin and run tests on it. I want to see if it could possibly be the bullet that our Jane Doe was shot, and maybe even killed, with."

Cam's eyes widened.

"Dr. B…that sounds like you're guessing! That is so out of character for you!" Hodgins smiled and let out a laugh. Brennan frowned.

"I am making a logical inference, Dr. Hodgins. And this bullet in the petri dish is like nothing I have ever seen before. I am going to talk to Dr. Sweets." At this Hodgins' jaw dropped.

"Wow! Definitely out of character!" he practically shouted as Brennan left the room.

**so there ya go...might be a little bit of a cliffie depending on how you look at it...so thats something to look forward to :) heyyy dont forget to review! and i just realized im supposed to be watching the State of the Union speech right now for American History! oops!!!! i will just find it on hulu or something later...but that does remind me of today during 5th period Am. history we got into a discussion about jury duty and we started talking about conflict of interest, which of course made me think of the epi Fire in the Ice when Booth was accused of murder and my friend Jared (same name as Booth's brother!!! hee hee) and i were trying to remember if Brennan was taken off the case because of conflict of interest or not?? so hee hee..when you review you should soooo tell me! so go click that button!**

**lots of love, BrennanBooth903 **


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